Five unforgettable Steve-Dustin moments from ‘Stranger Things’ to make you ugly cry
Netflix has given viewers plenty to look forward to in Stranger Things season five. But if we were to pick and choose, Steve Harrington and Dustin Henderson’s bromance undoubtedly takes the cake.
Stranger Things is honestly nothing without its characters, and we know how much it must have stung when the show picked up with an unrelenting friction between these two. But by the time the hit Netflix series pulls down the curtains for volume two, the dynamic once again falls back into place with a renewal of a do-or-die pact we refuse to forget against a backdrop of a life-and-death situation we’re yet to wrap our heads around.
If Nancy and Jonathan’s Titanic moment almost had viewers tightening their seatbelts, Steve and Dustin’s reconciliation was the extra life jacket they didn’t know they needed.
So, in an ode to the friendship that doesn’t nudge even in the face of Demogorgons or the Upside Down, here are five unforgettable Steve-Dustin moments from Stranger Things to make you ugly cry in nostalgia.
Top five Steve-Dustin moments from Stranger Things
Season Two, Episode Six: ‘The Spy’
Every great friendship has an unexpected origin, and Steve and Dustin’s one began with ‘The Spy’ in Stranger Things season two, when they joined forces to track down Dustin’s escaped pet, Dart. As the duo sprinkles raw meat on the ground to catch their target, Steve offers some words of Cupid wisdom to Dustin, saying, “The key with girls is acting like you don’t care… and then you just wait until you feel it.”
While the pearls also come with some inevitable hair advice, later, when Dustin tries the trick with Max, Steve extends a knowing wink, leaving Dustin in a bit of hesitation, but in a brotherly way. It may have been too early to know what their bond would eventually come to mean to the fans back in the day. However, now, in retrospect, it looks like the perfect kind that will constantly leave social media obsessing over.
Season Three, Episode Four: ‘The Sauna Test’
‘The Sauna Test’ is one of those Stranger Things episodes that isn’t short of reasons to pull you in for a rewatch. But if there’s an icing to the cake that it is, it’s a poignant moment between Steve and Dustin. The scene takes place below the Starcourt Mall as Dustin, Erica, and Robin invade a secret chamber, when Steve advises the rest of the gang to step back so that he can examine the goods. But Dustin, being Dustin, refuses, saying, “If you die, I die.”
Sure, the scene is probably a bit dramatic, but it just shows Dustin and Steve for who they are.
Season Three, Episode Five: ‘The Flayed’
Steve has achieved many things in his Stranger Things journey; the best being his babysitter tag. But one thing he never really had luck with is probably winning fights. In the first season, Jonathan beats him up, and in the second, he gets bruised up badly by Billy. In the third, a Russian spy keeps the streak going, but in one of the scenes, Steve outdoes the Russian spy with his best man cheering right behind as Dustin says, “You did it! You won a fight!”
Season Five, Episode Five: ‘Shock Jock’
Dustin kicks off Stranger Things season five still mourning for Eddie, and it’s best to say that things also aren’t looking good between him and Steve. The tension particularly reaches a fever pitch when Steve disapproves of Dustin’s energy shield theory, but when Steve namedrops Eddie, it feels like the last nail in the coffin.
“Deep down, the reason you’re so goddamn pissed is because you know the truth. Eddie wanted to play hero, and he made a dumb call, and he got himself killed,” Steve told Dustin, culminating in a full-blown brawl between them.
Season Five: Episode Seven: ‘The Bridge’
But real friends don’t just give up on each other because of a fight; they make up. So, right before the final battle begins, in a moment of truce offering, Dustin gives Eddie’s sphere to Steve, which, in turn, leads Steve to apologise to Dustin. “Eddie, he saved your life – our lives. And I know what he meant to you. I can’t imagine how hard it’s been. Instead of being there, I just got angry about it,” he said.
Gaten Matarazzo spoke to Tudum about the scene, calling it a “needed” moment for the duo. “They can actually verbally express to each other what they’ve wanted to say for a long time, and I think it’s cool to let those boundaries break down.” The ultimate show of their reconciliation is when Steve puts his hands on Dustin’s shoulder, saying, “I got angry… because I really missed you, I missed my best friend.”
While Dustin reciprocates, the characters make a callback to their season three pact, declaring, “You die, I die,” leaving all of us a little teary-eyed.